Hillary Clinton: ‘Americans Can’t Afford Another Day’ of Government Shutdown

Hillary Clinton commented on the partial government shutdown, tweeting on Saturday that “Americans can’t afford another day” of what is now the longest-running government shutdown in U.S. history.

Clinton made the comments as Saturday marked day 22 of the partial shutdown, surpassing the 21-day shutdown under former President Bill Clinton’s administration, which ended on January 6, 1996.

Several government agencies are not receiving funding during the shutdown— including the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Interior Department, the Agriculture Department, the State Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and a few smaller agencies— but these agencies are providing “essential” government services despite the lack of funding.

Clinton warned her followers at the start of the day that a continued government shutdown would cause “harm to our food safety and national security.”

“As of today, this shutdown is the longest in history. The costs are already high: People are missing paychecks, losing business, or working without pay. Our national parks are overrun with trash,” the former 2016 Democrat presidential nominee tweeted Saturday morning. “The FDA and FBI warn of the harm to our food safety and national security”:

The ex-presidential candidate then urged her followers to call their senators, specifically singling out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and demand they reopen the government:

The shutdown is ongoing as President Donald Trump continues to stick by his demand to receive $5.7 billion in border wall funding, while Democrats are steadfast in opposing his plan to fund border security.

Trump announced in a Saturday tweet that “Democrats could solve the Shutdown in 15 minutes” if they considered securing the border an effort to solve a “Humanitarian Crisis”:

Trump has mentioned the possibility of declaring a national emergency so he could use his executive powers to build a wall along the border, but he has not yet signaled a desire to take that step.